A Crunchy Snack or Sprinkle (Granola)

Repurpose a small jam jar and fill it with granola as a gift.

Several years ago a friend brought me a jar of this homemade granola. She and her husband had recently discovered this granola in Aspen and apparently was given the recipe. So they made some at home and gifted me a large jar of the finished product as well as the recipe. This is the best granola I’ve ever had, and I’ve lost count of how many batches of it I have made and also gifted.

It’s great as a crunchy snack, but I also enjoy a sprinkle of it on my morning yogurt bowl to give it a little crunch. It’s also very good on ice cream or frozen yogurt. I’ve even sprinkled a small portion on grilled peaches.

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TRIPLE CREEK RANCH GRANOLA

• Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
• 2 large sheet pans (sprayed with cooking spray)
• 4 quart sized jars
• 1 -21 oz container of Old Fashioned Oats (plus one cup optional)
• 2 cups sliced almonds
• 2 cups walnuts or hazelnuts (coarsely chopped)
• 2 cups pecans (coarsely chopped)
• 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 cups maple syrup
• 1 cup canola oil *** careful here only 1 cup all others were 2
• 2 cups of dried cranberries (or raisins, chopped dates, your own dried fruit choice)

1) In a very large bowl combine oats, all nuts, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon.

2) In a large measuring cup or bowl combine syrup and oil.

3) Pour syrup over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with a wood spoon or rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are evenly coated with the syrup – oil mixture.

4) Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup place four scoops of the mixture on to the prepared baking sheet. Spread the mixture into an even thin layer. (Place two sheets into the oven at a time. ) Put stove timer on for 7 minutes. Pull baking sheets out one at a time and stir granola around that will still be wet. Put the timer on again for another 7 minutes. Check again. When most of the moisture is gone remove the trays from the oven. (Watch closely because it can go from under done to overdone in seconds. Every oven is different.) It will continue to dry and crisp as it cools. Put 1/2 cup of dried fruit on top of the hot granola and toss with wooded spoon or spatula. Scrape the sheet with a metal spoon or spatula in one direction and then the other. This clears the sheet from sticking while also helping the granola to help the dried fruit plump up.

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5) When the granola has cooled down to slightly warm, I used a canning funnel to scoop the granola into quart sized Mason Jars.

6) Re-spray your baking sheets. Mix the remaining ingredients together thoroughly. The liquid tends to settle in the bottom. If it looks really wet, try adding another cup of oats. Again scoop out four 1/2 cups of the mixture on two the trays and spread out thinly. (Follow the instructions in Step 4 on timing.)

The recipe fills 4 quart sized canning jars.

Sprinkle a handful of granola on a morning yogurt bowl to add a little crunch.

One of my friends asked if there was a way to reduce the sugar without changing the texture. Previously I had not diverted from the original recipe that I was given. So to accept her challenge I did a small test with the remaining ingredients I had and below is a lower sugar version.

This version fills a quart sized canning jar:

Preheat over 350 degrees.  Spray a large sheet pan with cooking spray.

Dry ingredients:

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup sliced almonds

½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup of rolled oats

¼ cup light brown sugar

Wet ingredients:

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup canola oil

Omit dried fruit or you can add ½ cup of 50% lower sugar dried cranberries or chopped dates that have healthy natural sugar. Dried apricots have the lowest amount of sugar.

Mix dry with wet ingredients until the dry is well coated, if too dry a little more canola oil. Spread thinly on the prepared sheet pan. Spray the top of the granola (I used butter flavored spray). Place timer on 7 minutes, using a spatula stir and slightly flip the mixture around, but recreating a thin layer.  Return to the over with timer on 7 minutes.  Remove from the oven stir and scrape back and forth.  Add dried fruit and stir /toss again. Allow to cool -then store in tightly closed jars such as canning jars.

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  Use lower sugar dried fruit like these or dried apricots.

Dried dates have healthier sugars and other nutritional properties. Chopped dates have a white dusting of cornstarch (no sugar) to keep them from sticking together due to their sticky texture when cut.

The color may be a little lighter and the texture a little crispier due to less sugar.

Wrapped and ready for Kelly!